British police issued new guidelines yesterday to offer new identities to victims of so-called “honor” violence, hoping to combat the crime that affects hundreds of people every year.
London’s Metropolitan Police said up to a dozen people were murdered annually in honor violence — defined by the police as crimes committed in a bid to protect family or communal honor — and officers estimate a further 500 are forcibly married and then raped, attacked or kept imprisoned.
“The police response is about saving life, protecting those at risk of harm and bringing perpetrators to account,” commander Steve Allen of the Metropolitan Police said. “We have an absolute duty to uphold the law and to protect the human rights of our fellow human beings.”
The new guidelines are the first police strategy aimed at dealing with honor-based violence in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and were issued by the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO).
They would allow police to offer new identities and addresses for victims, even if they did not testify against perpetrators.
Typically, women are the victims of honor violence, which has been linked to certain interpretations of religious and cultural norms.
Britain’s Forced Marriage Unit deals with around 400 inquiries a year, but the government notes that the full scale of the issue is not fully clear.
The country is planning to increase the age at which foreigners can apply for marriage visas from 18 to 21 to crack down on forced marriages, along with other measures to strengthen safeguards against the practice.
The guidelines also say that police forces need to review witness protection schemes to help victims.
The new police strategy follows accusations that some officers in the past have ignored the issue for fear of upsetting cultural sensitivities in minority communities.
ACPO said the “urgency of the issue” meant forces need to review their witness protection schemes to ensure victims of honor crimes are included even if they do not want to help prosecute those responsible.
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